Cold Case Unit disbanded

Sheriff Susan Pamerleau said a post on an “unofficial Facebook page that indicated incorrect information” led her to make the announcement about disbanding the cold case unit.

Bexar County Sheriff Susan Pamerleau announced Monday that the two-person cold case unit is being disbanded and the office's 120 unsolved murder cases will be divvied up among investigators starting Oct. 1.

Years ago, a grant created the unit, which has since been staffed by patrol officers Louis Antu and Adrian Ramirez, whose jobs are to investigate only cold cases. But after an August study of the Sheriff's Office's operations, Pamerleau said, she has decided that the cases would be better handled by others.

“We determined a more effective way of addressing cold cases was by placing this function with our investigators instead of just patrol officers, who were doing a good job,” Pamerleau said. “Across the entire Sheriff's Office, I will always look for better and more effective ways for providing for our top security in Bexar County.”

Aside from removing Antu and Ramirez from the unit, though, details on how cold cases will be investigated in the future are scant. Pamerleau said she isn't sure where Antu and Ramirez will be reassigned, and it's not exactly clear how the cold cases will be divvied up. The changes won't require additional money, she said.

“We've had this under discussion for quite some time,” she said, adding that a post over the weekend on an “unofficial Facebook page that indicated incorrect information” prompted her to make the announcement.

On Sunday, KSAT-TV reported that a sister of a murder victim contacted the station after seeing a post on Facebook about the unit's future. Facebook user “Bcso Cold Cases” posted “The B.C.S.O. Cold Case Unit Being Disbanded,” according to the story, but then quickly took the post down. The post reportedly was signed by a detective in the unit.

Pamerleau said she has been long aware of the site, which Antu and Ramirez administered and often used to post updates and solicit information on unsolved slayings. The Sheriff's Office does not yet have a social media policy, but Pamerleau said she has spoken to the officers about the post.

“This type of interface with the public needs to be done on an official basis,” she said. Going forward, the type of information posted on the unofficial site might be incorporated into the office's site or on most wanted lists. “That's part of us improving and enhancing our website and the media that we use.”

Pamerleau lamented that the post caused victims' families to worry that their loved ones' cases would remain unsolved, and she added that this was far from the truth. The cases are “important cases,” and homicide cases often take a while to solve because of their complexity. Pamerleau said George Saidler, whom she appointed to be deputy chief of the criminal investigation unit, was also dedicated to solving the dated crimes.

In his seven years with the San Antonio Police Department's cold case unit, they solved 35 cases, Saidler said, and so far, the arrests have held up in court.

“These cases are extremely difficult cases, and it takes training and experience to think outside of the box and come up with new ideas,” he said.